Matt Quest
by BlueKirby10
Summary: When a summer Biathlon goes awry, Matthew Ing has to take care of the Cyndaquil he accidentally shot. Soon, though, he finds himself traversing the Johto region, looking for a thief, his lost father, and a personal goal: To be a Master.
1. Prologue: Good morning, Matt!

BZZ-BZBZZZ-BZZ-BZZZ-BZBZZBZZZ, BZ-BZZZ!

BZZ-BZBZZZ-BZZ-BZZZ-BZBZZBZZZ, BZ-BZZZ!

BZZ-BZBZZZ-BZZ-BZZZ-BZBZZBZZZ, BZ-BZZZ!

BZZ-BZBZ—

Clik!

He was finally up. He had forgotten to switch his alarm sound to something other than a Jynx cry for the third time in a row.

"Honey, Breakfast is ready!"

"I'll be right down, mom. Just give me a moment or two."

First, he would change his alarm sound. Better do it now than to put it off and forget again. He decided to make it a random Pokémon's cry.

Next, he'd change into actual clothes. He was pretty sure by this point in his life that pajamas with a horde of Pikachu eating various berries were not something you wore in public.

After that, it was breakfast time. Oatmeal with a sweet berry assortment, a glass of Razz berry milk, and scrambled Pidgeot eggs. It was a huge breakfast.

"Mom, that was delicious. Although I kind of would like to know… why did you make such a massive breakfast?"

"Don't you remember the biathlon you signed up for, son?"

"Oh dang, I can't believe I forgot!"

"You did practice, right, honey?"

"Yeah… I was skating around yesterday. I forgot why I was doing it about partway through."

"Did you remember target practice as well?"

"Aw, for the love of… I gotta go, mom! I love you!"

He rushed out the door. He kept his rifle in a hidden room, inaccessible from inside the house. He grabbed it, a couple boxes of ammo, his eye and ear protection, and made a break for the target range.


	2. Chapter 1: The Biathlon

Some clarification about the guns: Legally, the guns are to be used only for (non-Pokémon-injuring) sport. Deliberately shooting a Pokémon incurs heavy fines, jail time, and legal requirement to nurse the injured Pokémon back to health. Unintentional shooting is a small fine and the aforementioned legal requirement. Unintentional shooting _by a minor_ is only the legal requirement. Clarification over!

"Hi, I'd like access to the target range."

Matt was out of breath. The range was on the other side of Olivine City, and he ran with at least ten pounds of gear.

"What is your name?"

"Matthew Ing, ma'am."

"Ah. Here to practice for the Biathlon, huh?"

"Yeah. Forgot about it until this morning. I need to get as much practice as I can."

"Entry into the range is $5. You're already registered for the Biathlon."

"Yes. Here's the five greenbacks."

"Good luck, young man."

Finally. There were three runs around the track and five targets to hit. Each ammo box held 30 rounds. 'So,' he thought, 'I can shoot each target off of my board three times, and with my bo—'

OH SCHAP!

He forgot his skateboard!

'Okay, just calm down, Matt. Deep breaths. One step at a time. Just get the first fifteen shots out of the way, and then you can get your board.'

He did not look forward to it. Surely the registration lady would understand. She'd watch his stuff for him.

He thought so hard about this he forgot that he was even practicing. He mindlessly popped off round after round. He had almost fired his sixteenth bullet when he heard his mom calling for him.

"Maa-aaatt! You forgot your board!"

"Oh, thank you so much, mom. I almost had a breakdown in the middle of the range."

"You're welcome, sweetie."

Matt got right to work on shooting from his board. His accuracy took a slight hit, but not that much. He had always been a good shot.

The Biathlon was about to start.

He hadn't heard before, but there would be a very special prize for the three top performers: Their selection of Johto Starter Pokémon.

Well, it was sort of a choice. Matt always knew that the third party got the shaft selecting a Starter Pokémon. In a way, the first party did too, what with their inevitable second-place rival choosing the Pokémon with an advantage over the first guy.

He was prepared—well, he felt prepared, at least. He would hate to screw up. He even heard that Professor Elm would be there!

Matt really wanted to meet Professor Oak, though. He was his childhood hero, someone who seemed to know everything about Pokémon- and more. He had a radio show, though. That conflicted with the Biathlon, like it did every year.

'Oh well,' he thought, 'at least I can listen to his show while I wait for my go down the track.'

He was the second-last to go. He would've spent the time tweaking his board, but that was against the rules. He didn't really mind, though.

"We're almost finished!" the announcer boomed through the subwoofers. "We've got two entrants to go! First up, Matthew Ing!"

Matt always thought that Ing was a stupid last name. It seemed like it was just half of a last name, or half a first name, or, heck, even half a middle name.

He didn't like his middle name much, either. Dan also sounded incomplete.

But he didn't have time to worry about that. Right now, there was a Biathlon to make.

As he finished his first volley of shots, he caught a glimpse of Professor Elm, holding onto one of the Starters. He was still moving pretty fast, though, so he wasn't sure which it was, or if it was a starter at all.

After the second go-around, he was moving a bit slower, and he saw it was Cyndaquil. It looked kind of unhappy in Elm's arms, though, and was apparently trying to escape.

"Here! He! COMES!" screamed the announcer, "His final go! His deciding moment!"

And then the unthinkable happened.

It happened because Matt had made a mistake.


	3. Chapter 2: Cyndaquil

The Biathlon is a typically wintertime sport, where the competitors must ski through a course, and right after shoot at five targets while still skiing. However, in our story, it is summertime, and it's rather hard to ski then.

As such, the competitors in the Olivine Biathlon ride on skateboards. It is, in some ways, even harder, as it is possible to completely fall off of the board, among other things.

Either way, the Biathlon requires a lot of focus, accuracy, and determination on the competitor's part.

It is Matt's focus that led him to his mistake.

As he came to the targets for the last volley, the Cyndaquil leapt out of Professor Elm's arms, trying to get away from him as fast as possible.

Unfortunately, the fastest way was through the range.

Matt didn't notice when Elm yelled, "Wait! STOP! Don't shoot!"

Matt didn't notice when the blackish figure sprinted in front of the targets.

Matt didn't even notice the announcer belting out, "Cease fire! Matt, CEASE FIRE!"

*BANG*

In an instant, the world fell silent. THAT was what snapped Matt from his focus.

'What? Did I do something wrong?'

The first thing that made sound again was the crying of the Cyndaquil.

'Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh mother of Arceus.'

After that, everything was a blur. Between the Cyndaquil's screeches, Professor Elm's blubbering about how it was his fault and that he let the Cyndaquil go, and the security officer's efforts to get through the shocked crowd, his mind started suppressing memories of the incident.

The first thing he remembered was him lying down in his room, on his bed, while he heard a little whimpering coming… from… beside his head?

The Cyndaquil, with bandages over the wounded area, was lightly pawing at Matt's face. He slowly, deliberately got up, picked up the little Pokémon, and went downstairs to get his story straight with mom's.

"Mom, why is the Cyndaquil here?"

"Um… do you not remember?"

"No, really, I don't. The last thing I really remember was this little guy screeching after I accidentally shot it."

"Oh. It's a bit of a story. Do you want some dinner?"

"Sure. But isn't this guy hungry?"

"I'll make dinner for both of you. I'll tell you then."

It was a simple dinner. It was just a couple Bluk berry sandwiches.

"Okay, first of all, the security officer took you over to the police station to get your identity verified. Then they had to work out the punishment for you. It was simple though, the law states that undeliberate shooting of a Pokémon by a minor simply requires that the minor nurse the Pokémon back to health."

"So… I basically get to keep the Cyndaquil?"

"Sort of. Once he's back to full health, he needs to go back to Professor Elm's as a Star—"

"Wait a moment. What did I place in the Biathlon?"

"You were nearly disqualified, but Elm and I talked the judges out of it. You got 1st."

"So that means that I get to pick a Starter Pokémon."

"Oh, I see where you're going with this…"

"I even wanted Cyndaquil anyway!"

"Well, let's call it a half-win. You did still shoot the Cynda—"

"But I'm working on healing him, mother. At the very least a 7/8ths-win."

"Alright, alright, Matthew! You should probably try and familiarize yourself with Cyndaquil tonight. Get to know each other."

"I think I'll do that, mom! Thanks for dinner!"

Matt ran up the steps to his room, Cyndaquil holding onto his shirt collar. He wondered what to do with Cyndaquil first.

Then it hit him.

"Alright Cyndaquil, I feel like I should give you a nickname. Cyndaquil is a bit of a mouthful."

*fmp* "Cyyn! Yip yip! Quiiiillllll!"

"I think I'll call you Cynder."


	4. Chapter 3: Rare Candy

Thanks to everyone who is reading this! I'm going to try to stick to this upload schedule:

Monday-Friday: 2 Chapters a day, one AM, one PM

Saturday: 1 Chapter

Sunday: Vacation Day

I'll try and notify you guys if I can't post for one reason or another. BTW Chapter 4 might be delayed today. It should still be here by midnight, though.

Matt thought that having a Pokémon would be all completely awesome.

He had forgotten that some were incredibly mischievous.

He had left a document unsaved on his computer while he got some lunch. When he got back, Cynder had apparently taken a nap on the keyboard. Whatever wasn't deleted was full of gibberish, and he had spent the whole morning on it.

Later, he found that Cynder had 'marked its territory' on his pillow.

This went on for weeks.

However, it finally reached a head when Matt got back from the store with groceries…

… and Cynder leapt into his arms, spilling the bucket of Rare Candy all over the floor. Miraculously, nothing else spilled from a stunned Matt's arms.

Cynder leapt right back out of his arms and feasted on the Candy.

"No! Bad Cynder! Stop! HEEL!"

*chompchompchompchompchomp* "Cyyndaa! Yipyip!"

"Aw, for the love of…"

Matt was NOT looking forward to explaining this to his mom. He put Cynder in a drawer in his bedroom, left ajar to give him air, while he put away the groceries.

It would be a while before his mom got back. He decided to play some Wii upstairs while he waited. However, about midway through the Star Cup in Mario Kart, he heard sad little moans come from his drawer.

"Hey, Cynder? Are you doing alright?"

"Quuuuiiiiiiiiiiillllllllllll…"

At first he thought that Cynder merely wanted attention. So he picked up Cynder from the drawer and realized that he was actually sick. 'No doubt got himself sick from all the Candy he ate,' thought Matt.

Making haste, he brought Cynder outside to 'do his business.' However, Matt noticed a strange glow about Cynder.

"Um… are you alright, Cynder?"

"Quiiiiiiillllllav!"

"'Quilav'? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Lavvvaaaa!"

Cynder seemed to grow longer. He looked sort of like an Ekans, but shorter, fatter, and with legs.

"Oh jeez… what the dickens did I just do?"

He decided that his only option was to call up Professor Elm. There was a payphone near his house (unbelievably).

*beeeeeeep*

"OH! Hello, this is Professor Elm! May I ask who's calling?"

Elm had a stammer to his voice, like something had gone wrong.

"Hello, this is Matt Ing. Do you remember me?"

"Oh, I don't have… what is it?"

"It's about the Cyndaquil. He made me spill a bunch of Rare Candy an—"

"Oh, about that… I, er… need that Cyndaquil back. At least for a little while. There are some new trainers I need to give Starter Pokémon to. There's a chance he won't get pick—"

"No, he ATE the Rare Candy. Either he's having the worst stomachache ever right now, or there's something in that Candy."

"Oh, I… [off phone]what was that? oh, good![/off phone] It's the latter. Rare Candy makes Pokémon level up—"

"What are you going on about, Elm? Level up? What was that thing you said off of the phone?"

"Give me a moment, boy."

Matt was more than a little bit confused. When Elm was back on the line, he said:

"I need to see you about something. Meet me in Ecruteak City."


	5. Chapter 4: Route Ecruteak

"Mom, I need to go to Ecruteak City."

"Why is that, son?"

"Err… It's a bit of a story… you don't have anything else to do for a while?"

"Oh, you go right on ahead, Matt."

And so Matt told her everything. He told her about the Rare Candy, the stomachache, the transformation, the phone call, everything.

"Well, if it's with Professor Elm, I suppose it would be okay…"

"All right! I'll go ri—"

"Not so fast, honey. You need some protection if you go all the way to Ecruteak."

"You forget that I have Cynder."

"Isn't he still sick?"

"No, he seems perfectly alright now. Just as chipper as before."

"Well… have a good trip, son!"

"Thank you so much, mom."

Right away, Matt scooped up Cynder in his arms.

"C'mon, little guy! We're going for a walk!"

"Quiiiiiil!"

It was one of the very few times that Matt had left Olivine City, and the first time he was on Route 39.

Off to the side, there was a patch of tall grass. Matt thought this odd, as the rest of the route's grass seemed to be regularly mowed. 'Surely,' he thought, 'the grass wouldn't be tall without a reason.'

He decided to ask Professor Elm about it when they got to Ecruteak.

When they got to Route 38, Matt wondered about the numbering scheme of the routes. In all the regions he studied in school, the routes always seemed to start at the most humble city in the whole region, and then continue upwards in what seemed to be a very linear path.

He decided not to think about it too much.

When the duos were close to the western entrance of Ecruteak City, all of a sudden, a metal ball with a screw on top of it and magnets on both sides and one eye popped out of the grass!

Bzz-BZZZ-bzzz!

"DYEEEEEHH! G-go, Cynder!"

Matt had no clue what to do. All he knew was that Cynder was Fire-type and that this thing was made of metal. 'So,' he figured, 'since fire melts metal, I should—'

His thoughts were cut off by what looked like the metal thing creating electrical arcs. In a panic he shouted to Cynder:

"Attack it! With… something involving fire! I guess?"

Cynder spontaneously popped a fireball from his mouth, hitting the ball straight in the eye. The electric arcs stopped appearing, and the ball fell to the ground, apparently unconscious.

"Whew… let's get going. We're almost there!"

In Ecruteak City, they had no idea where to go. However, there was a building with a red roof that seemed rather inviting. They decided to go in.

Inside, they were slightly more confused. There was a lady in a nurse's outfit standing behind a counter with an odd machine next to her. Upstairs seemed rather clueless as well. There were three doors (or were they elevators?) that they couldn't seem to get into. There was some card-swipe thingamabobber that would probably open the doors, but Matt had no card.

"Where the heck is Elm?"

As if to echo him, Matt heard a slightly troubled, quivering voice from downstairs:

"Where the heck is Matt?"

"I'm here."

"WHAA?! WHO SAID THAT?!"

Matt ran downstairs, horrified that he caused Professor Elm to freak out in the middle of this… Pokémon… building… thing.

"I'm right here, I'm right here! Calm down, Professor!"

"GEEEEHH! Oh, there you are, Matt."

"Sorry I made you freak out here."

"Okay, okay, my blood pressure's going normal again. Let's talk a bit."


	6. Chapter 5: Press START to Adventure!

Matt and Professor Elm sat down at a nearby table. Elm had calmed down significantly.

"Alright, Matt. First of all, returning the starter. You don't have to worry about that."

"Err, why? Is he sick?"

"Okay, you noticed the Cyndaquil being sick… about half an hour after he gorged the Rare Candy?"

"Yeah. I also had him in my open drawer for most of that."

"Alright, time for a quick lesson on how Pokémon mature. First of all, when they battle other Pokémon, they gain things we call 'Experience Points,' or Exp. for short."

"Um… how would I gauge Exp.?"

"I'll give you a thing to help with that in a minute. But first, Rare Candy hold a small amount of a certain, rare herb that helps Pokémon grow much more quickly."

"May I ask how much more quickly?"

"Imagine a toddler instantly maturing into a bodybuilder. That's what it looks like. The herb, in its pure form, is an illegal substance. However, small amounts are acceptable in Rare Candies."

"Oh. So… does that mean that he basically OD'd?"

"Well… yes. But he's perfectly fine. Now, on the phone, do you remember me talking about 'levelling up'?"

"Yeah. What does that mean?"

"Well, levelling up is basically Exp. working its magic. When a Pokémon gains enough Exp., it will level up and grow stronger. There is exactly enough of the herb in a Rare Candy to make a Pokémon instantly level up."

"Oh, okay. But what about the thing you mentioned earlier? The 'Exp. gauge'? What is that?"

"Oh, it's much more than just an Exp. gauge. It tells you the Pokémon's level, how much health it has, and its greatest feature: A list of all known Pokémon."

"What."

"Well, sort of. The network for it is on and off. It only seems to connect right after encountering or catching a new Pokémon, and then it's only that specific one."

"Aww…"

"But it is still the greatest tool of the Pokémon Trainer. The product of years of joint work between myself and the world-famous Pokémon Professor, Professor Oak."

"My Arceus… I… at a loss for words…"

"Okay, this must come at a shock to you. But I insist. You clearly are athletic, adventurous, and caring. This Pokémon Trainer's tool… the Pokédex… please take it."

"… Thank you. So much."

"Now, you should probably tell your mother about your adventure before you go running off to, say, Blackthorn City. Don't want to make her fret for you."

"I will. Thanks so much. For everything."

Matt had forgotten to ask about Cynder's transformation, but he didn't care. All that he could think was that 'I'm going on an adventure!'

His mom was surprised – in a good way – when they got home.

"Honey. I am so excited for you! I went on a journey when I was your age. Go on! Take the Tauros by his horns!"

"I still have a bit of trouble believing that I'm going on a journey!"

"Hold on. Take these before you go."

She handed Matt five Pokéballs to start his journey with."

"You can catch Pokémon with these. First you have to weaken them, and then you toss the ball at them. Try to catch at least two before going very far!"

"Thanks for the help, mom. I love you."

"I love you too, sweetie."

Matt and Cynder dashed out of the house and back towards Route 39. Matt didn't know where he'd go after Ecruteak City, but he didn't care at the time. All that mattered was that he was going on an adventure!

An adventure!

AN ADVENTURE!

He was so excited, he fell unconscious right outside the red building.

Fortunately, the nurse from earlier noticed and brought him inside.

"He can stay here for the night," she thought.


	7. Chapter 6: Pokémon Center

Good news: I now have an editor (sort of). If there was anything that was wrong consistently before, it should start getting fixed now.

In the morning, Matt woke up with a start. The last thing he could remember was being totally psyched for an adventure, and here he was—in an unfamiliar bed, in a red-adorned room.

He wasn't even sure where Cynder was at first, but to his left he saw six Pokéballs, one of which had its top translucent. Inside, he saw Cynder, apparently floating while asleep. He quickly fumbled through his pockets for everything he had on him: his wallet, a couple hard candies, **his Pokédex, **and…

…what? He was sure that he hadn't stuffed a crumpled piece of paper in his pocket. He hastily dug it out and read the message on it:

"Hello, this is the Pokémon Center Nurse. I noticed you passed out in front of our building and brought you in for the night. Your Quilava didn't apparently have a Pokéball, so I bought one for him.

"Before you leave, come up and see me. I can get you a Pokémon Trainer's License, which allows you to, among other things, battle Gym Leaders for Gym Badges. Collecting all eight Johtonian badges is an excellent goal for a Pokémon Trainer to work towards."

Matt decided to go ahead up—after he grabbed his Pokéballs, of course.

"Hello, and welcome to the Pokémon Center! You're the boy I brought in last night, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I am. My name's Matt. How do I get a Trainer's License?"

"First of all, I need your full name. First, Middle, and Last."

"Matthew Dan Ing."

"How old are you?"

"Thirteen."

"What is your hometown?"

"Olivine City."

"Now, I'm obligated to ask this last question, for… some reason, I forgot what it was. It was probably something inane. Anyways," she sighed, "are you a boy, or a girl?"

"I'm a boy." *sigh*

"Okay, stand in the middle of the Pokéball on the floor, look directly at the camera, and…"

*clack!*

"There! It's printing your card now. It's very important you keep track of this—it holds info on almost all the aspects of a Trainer."

"Thank you. I know that you don't print cards for every person who comes by, so what do you do normally?"

"I heal Pokémon. Free of charge! It's the primary service of a Pokémon Center. I healed your Quilava last night after I put you to bed."

"Alright then! Thank you, ma'am!"

"Anytime, Matt."

Matt's first priority after leaving the Pokémon Center was finding a place to get some breakfast. Ecruteak was (for Johtonian standards) a fairly major city, though not nearly as much as Goldenrod City or even Olivine. Goldenrod or Olivine didn't really matter right now, though, since he wanted some food.

Fortunately, there was a nice-looking place just outside the Pokémon Center called 'Trainer's Table'. He decided to try there.

The waitress looked almost exactly like the nurse in the Pokémon Center, apart from that she was dressed like a maid.

"Hello, and welcome to the Trainer's Table! Would you and your Pokémon like some breakfast?"

"Yes, please. Table for two."

"Right this way."

At this point, Matt noticed that Cynder was still sleeping. He wasn't sure why that surprised him, though.

"Pssst! Cynder! Rise and shine!"

ZZZzzzZZZzzzZZZzzz

"Cynder! We're about to have breakfast! Wake up!"

ZZZzzzZZZzzzZZZzzz

"WAKE UP!"

*snrk!*zZZZzzzZZZzzz

"May I help you with that?"

She handed a spray bottle filled with blue liquid inside to Matt. He instinctively used it on Cynder.

"QUIII! Snnn… lavvvvvv…"

"Don't worry. He's awake now."


	8. Chapter 7: Ecruteak City

OOPS I am so sorry this is late! I underestimated how long I'd be away from home. I need to start writing buffer chapters. I guess this means I have to double up on Saturday

"What is the thing that you gave me?"

"It's an Awakening. It instantly wakes up a sleeping Pokémon."

"Ah. Thank you."

"I'll be back to take your order soon."

The restaurant was fairly busy. Matt had noticed that almost everyone there was about his age, give or take a couple of years.

It didn't really bother him too much, so he started looking over the menu.

Ultimately, Cynder had a spicy berry salad, and Matt got Grumpig Bacon and Pidgeot Eggs.

"Your tab is $20 dollars. If you have a Pokémon Trainer's License, you only pay half as much!"

Matt near automatically handed it over. In a few moments, the waitress was back.

"The $10 has been deducted from your card. Have a great day!"

"You too, Ma'am! C'mon, Cynder, let's go!"

After they left the building, Matt noticed something whitish sticking out of the ground nearby. He headed over to it to inspect it more closely.

When he got there, it looked like a massive piece of eggshell. He looked around, and when he saw that no one seemed to be looking for something like it, he started to carefully dig it out.

Once it had been excavated, Matt saw that it was actually a whole egg. White with red and blue hollow triangles. He had never seen an egg like this before.

He decided to take it with him.

'I'll find someone to ask about this egg,' he thought.

Before he got out of the square, he bumped into someone he didn't notice before.

"WH-? Who was that?"

"Oh! Excuse me, mister. I didn't notice you."

The man was notably taller than Matt, clearly at least a young adult. An apparently natural blonde, with purple and black clothes.

"Oh," he sighed, "it's alright. Just passing through."

"Okay. I'll let you be on your way."

"Hold on. Are you, by any chance, a Pokémon Trainer?"

"Err, yes, I am. Matt Ing."

"Heh. My name's Morty. Have you visited any Pokémon Gyms yet?"

"Um, no. Are you a Gym Leader?"

"Spot-on, boy. I run the Ghost-type Gym around here. I hope to meet you in battle soon."

"Wait, hold on a—"

Morty walked swiftly away, taking with him Matt's chance to ask about the egg.

'Well, I guess I ought to get ready for the Gym,' he thought.

He realized he didn't have any Pokémon other than Cynder, so he decided to find at least one before heading over. It was back to Route 38.

As he stepped into the tall grass, another metal ball popped out at him. This time, though, he had a Pokédex. He scanned the ball, but all the Pokédex told him was that its name was Magnemite.

"Attack it, Cynder! Hold back a little though."

Cynder's interpretation of this was to ram headfirst into the Magnemite. Its being made out of metal and Cynder's being made of soft flesh did not make this a good combination for the latter.

However, it had still hurt the Magnemite. Now, though, it was attacking, creating the same electric arcs from earlier. Suddenly, the Pokédex said:

"Wild MAGNEMITE used ThunderShock!"

A weak-looking jolt of electricity flung itself from its body, electrocuting Cynder. He seemed to take it pretty well, however.

"Alright… time to try catching this thing!" breathed Matt as he reached in his pocket for a Pokéball.

*fwoosh**boinboinbon**shck…shck…shck…**clik*

"Gotcha! MAGNEMITE was caught!

"MAGNEMITE's data was added to the Pokédex."

"Ha-HA! Yes!"

"I'm coming for you, Morty!"


	9. Chapter 8: Magikarp Salesman

OOPS this is incredibly late! Way too much Minecraft for this guy I think I should reconsider the schedule to once a weekday. It's still a bit optimistic (especially with school), but I think I can manage it. So without further ado, Matt Quest Chapter 8.

Matt finally had more than one Pokémon. He felt like he could take the Gym now.

The problem was that he had no idea where the Gym was.

As he looked around, he saw Morty outside a building that looked different from all the others in town.

"Hello, Morty! Could you please tell me where the Gym is?"

"Oh! You again," he said. "You're already here."

The building was explicitly different from all the others, sharing a similar aesthetic to the Pokémon Center. As Morty picked himself up from the sign he was leaning on, there, in bright red letters, were the words:

"Ecruteak City Pokémon Gym

Leader: Morty

The mystic Seer of the Future"

"Pokémon Gyms all look about the same as this one—from the outside. The interior's pretty much never the same. Looking forward to our battle, man!"

Once again, he was off like a thunderbolt.

It was at this point that Matt realized he needed to heal his Pokémon. Cynder was electrocuted, and the Magnemite was dented. It was off to the Pokémon Center for them.

"Your Pokémon have been restored to full health," she cheered. "Come see us any time!"

Just before Matt left, an eccentric looking man struck up a conversation with him.

"He-hey, boy! Those are some good-looking Pokémon!"

"Oh, well, thank you! I gu—"

"But I have got a deal for you! I will sell you the super-secret Pokémon Magikarp… for just $5! Isn't it a great deal?"

"Y-yes, it is!" replied Matt unconvincingly.

"Oooh, you don't sound interested. What if… I made it just $2.50? Will you take it now? Huh? HUH?"

"Okay, YES, I will!" he said, mainly to get this guy to shut up.

"Here you go!"

Just after he had placed the Magikarp in Matt's hands, he was off even faster than Morty.

"No refuuunnnndddssssss!" His voice trailed off as he ran away.

"Oh, schnap. I think I got scammed."

His Pokédex confirmed his suspicion:

"For no reason, it jumps and splashes about, making it easy for predators like Pidgeotto to catch it mid-jump."

He decided to try and help Magikarp become more useful, and the first part of that was nicknaming him Dragon. While he was at it, he nicknamed Magnemite Craig.

Here he was. The Ecruteak Pokémon Gym. He had never been inside one before, and he had no clue what to expect.

Inside, it was dark, only a few candles lighting the inside. Several meters away from the entrance, two statues stood. In a panel on the face of the statue, there were some names etched in the stone, atop them the header: "Certified Trainers".

Next to the statue on the right, there was a boisterous-looking man, someone who wasn't shy in any aspect. Upon seeing Matt, he walked over and blurted:

"Yo! Champ in the making! The Trainers here use Ghost-type Pokémon at will. A ghost is like a shade or a phantom… It won't do any good to use physical strength alone."

The greeting "Champ in the making!" was sudden, and Matt didn't expect it at all. Here he was, never having been in a Pokémon Gym before, and this guy was saying that he'd eventually become the Champion of Johto!

Not sure what to say in response to this, all Matt could say was a feeble "Thanks," and he went along the path into darkness.

He hadn't an idea of where to go, but he went on forward regardless. From the corner of his eye, he noticed a light coming from his side. It came closer…

From the light, he heard a voice, that of an old woman:

"As disciples of Morty, we are to battle with all challengers!"

Just then, Matt's Pokédex began vibrating. As he pulled it out and flipped it open, he heard it say

"Medium Georgina would like to battle!"


	10. Chapter 9: Ecruteak Gym, part 1

From now on, the Pokédex's lines will be called out in \backslash\\. It's just a thing to make it more convenient. I look out for you guys. (-_-)

Unsure of Dragon's fighting capabilities, Matt sent out Craig. In response to the Medium tossing her Pokéball, the Pokédex called out

\Medium Georgina sent out GASTLY!\

On the Pokédex's top screen, a videogame-like recreation of the battlefield was displayed. On it was the question,

\What will Craig do?\

On the bottom screen were four options: FIGHT, ITEM, POKÉMON, and RUN. Matt chose FIGHT.

From there were four more options, apparently Craig's moves. They were Metal Sound, ThunderShock, Supersonic, and SonicBoom. Matt decided on Supersonic.

\Craig used Supersonic! The foe's GASTLY was confused!\

Immediately after, the Medium's Gastly began an attack. However, it didn't seem right in the head, and stumbled through the air.

\The foe's GASTLY is confused! The foe's GASTLY used Spite! GASTLY removed 4 PP from Supersonic!\

Matt didn't quite understand the 'PP' business, so he went on attacking, this time with SonicBoom.

\Craig used SonicBoom! It doesn't affect GASTLY…\

Now, this was something strange. Moves not doing anything. Gastly still seemed completely loco, though.

\The foe's GASTLY is confused! It hurt itself in its confusion!\

Gastly had started toward Craig, but veered right around and plowed straight into a wall. That did do something.

It was Matt's turn again. He settled on ThunderShock.

\Craig used ThunderShock!\

The arcs Matt had seen around the wild Magnemite before reappeared. However, they weren't yellow; they were an intimidating shade of blue. As the wicked blue streak of electricity fired towards Gastly, the Pokédex reacted:

\**A critical hit!**\

The Gastly went around erratically some more, before it slowed to a halt and fell to the floor.

\The foe's GASTLY fainted!\

Yes. Matt was sure of it. That was the goal of a Pokémon Battle: to make all your opponents Pokémon faint. He was already on his way.

"Hm! Very well done, youngster!" the Medium said as she recalled the unconscious Gastly. "However, I've still got some more up my sleeve."

\Medium Georgina sent out GASTLY!\

The rest of the battle was largely the same, apart from Matt only using ThunderShock.

\Matt has won the battle!\

"Ohh, clever boy! You might have what it takes to defeat Morty!"

\Matt received $7.68 for winning!\

Matt went further along the invisible floor, wary of falling through the seemingly-nonexistent boards and tumbling to Arceus knows where. Just as soon as he had started getting used to it, right in front of him a ghastly Pokémon spontaneously appeared!

"DYEEEEEGHH! G-go, Craig!"

He didn't bother to pull out his Pokédex. He was even more terrified than that one time when he tried playing "Seven Shifts at Teddi's". But that didn't matter right now—what mattered was that he got rid of this thing!

The Pokémon gave Matt and Craig a cold, intimidating look. He found that the piercing glare practically made it impossible for him to run away.

"E-er, use ThunderShock! Right in its mean face!"

Craig seemed happy to oblige. It didn't look like it was too fond of this thing either.

Suddenly, the thing pulled a nail seemingly from nowhere. In its other hand, it revealed another nail. Matt wasn't sure whether it was threatening them or about to perform a magic trick.

All doubt was lost when it held one of the nails to its forehead, and the other to Craig's! It then started to shove the nails in… slowly… and painfully.

However, Craig… didn't seem that affected. It already had screws jutting out of its body, what was a nail?

The thing, on the other hand, apparently having second thoughts about self-mutilation.

Which it thought about as it fell to the floor.

Because it had fainted.

Finally noticing the Pokédex's violent vibrations, Matt flipped it open.

\Matt received $9.60 for winning!\


End file.
